Future Imperfect
by MegaNerdAlert
Summary: Hermione and Minerva are thrust into parenthood without ever having even kissed. Katlyn Jean McGonagall wasn't even kind enough to give them nine months to prepare for arrival. One minute she hadn't even been thought of, and the next, she was there for a student and her teacher to raise.


**An idea I had this morning at work...may continue in the form of a followup fic, but for now, this stands as a oneshot.**

* * *

**1998**

When nineteen year old Hermione Granger arrived back at Hogwarts to complete her seventh year of schooling with a six year old little girl, who looked very much like her, everyone in the castle whispered about it. When the brown eyed child called her _mum_, the Hogwarts gossip circles had erupted with chatter, making little attempt to be discreet about it at all. Of course, this left Headmistress Minerva McGonagall with the unavoidable task of reaching out to her star pupil for answers. She had owled Miss Granger this morning and requested a meeting, and the young woman was due to arrive any moment. Minerva hoped the Head Girl would have the good sense to leave the child with Miss Weasley or someone for this meeting. She didn't want to frighten the child, but she needed some very honest answers.

"Headmistress?" a familiar voice said, just after a light rapping had been heard on Minerva's office door.

"Come in, Miss Granger," she invited. "You are prompt, as always."

The younger witch smiled ruefully. "I assume you asked me here to talk about Katy?"

"Yes. I'm afraid that you having a six year old child in your custody has raised some questions among the students and staff, and the Ministry. I wish I could just say it's none of our business, but it's quite unusual for a child under eleven to be housed here at the school," Minerva stated crisply. "I can't begin to understand why you thought to adopt a child while you are still so young yourself."

"Katy is my flesh and blood," Hermione whispered. "She was not a random child I decided to take under my care."

"She can't be!" Minerva sputtered. "You would have been, what, twelve when you got pregnant? You were a first year student, Miss Granger. If, by some fluke you had been pregnant there's no way that myself and Poppy would not have been aware of that! I demand an explanation!"

Hermione huffed. "You do not want to know how she came to be my daughter. But I assure you, she is."

"I think I'd like any explanation other than the logical one I'm drawing," the older witch muttered, rubbing her temple. "Regardless of how I may feel about it, I need you to tell me the truth. I can't protect you, or her, without your honesty."

Silence filled the room for a moment before Hermione let out a sigh, and spoke again. "She's from the future. I would have given birth to her four years from now."

Minerva looked up and let out a sigh of relief. "Well _that _is something I can accept and work with. That said, she does need to return to her own time."

"She can't, Minerva," Hermione whispered.

The older witch was momentarily startled by the younger's use of her given name, but shook it off and asked the burning question. "Why?"

"Because she was brought back by a future version of yourself, shortly after the future version of me was killed in battle. Where she comes from, we never killed Voldemort," Hermione explained. "You came back in time, told me where to find the last Horcrux. You died a few months after, from the curse which in our timeline, killed Dumbledore. At that point, you left Katy in my care."

Minerva's brow furrowed. "Let's say I believe all that. What the bloody hell was I doing with _your_ future daughter, jumping into the future and changing things?"

Hermione took another deep breath and looked her Professor in the eye. "Katy's surname is McGonagall."

The Headmistress stared blankly at her student. McGonagall? Both her brothers were dead long before Hermione was even born. She had no cousins that carried the name on. Minerva was the last McGonagall standing. She knew that much for a fact. So how could Hermione's daughter be a McGonagall? She decided to voice her question. "Why does your daughter have my last name?"

The younger woman came closer to her Professor, and lay a gentle hand on her hand. "Because she's _our_ daughter," Hermione whispered.

Stunned silence filled the room. Minerva pulled away from Hermione in shock. "Ex-excuse me?" she stuttered after nearly a full minute.

"A paternity test will prove that I'm telling the truth," the brown eyed witch frowned, looking at the floor. "Granted, I hadn't intended on telling you at all. I'm not asking you to step up and be a mother to Katy. Things were different for the Minerva and Hermione who became lovers. War makes people do crazy things; the crazier the longer the fighting goes on."

"Of course," Minerva sighed. "You would have had to lose your mind to consider myself for a partner."

"That's not true!" Hermione objected. "You're an incredible witch who anyone would be lucky to have. I meant that I understand you would never consider me as anything but a student."

"And yet, we have a daughter," the older woman spat. "How the bloody hell am I going to explain this to the board?"

"Well if the idea that in some other timeline you and I were lovers offends you so much, then I'd suggest telling them something other than the truth," came Hermione's biting reply.

"How do you know it had anything to do with love?" Minerva argued. "For all I know it was a lust spell and a stupid one-off."

The younger woman closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. This was exactly why she hadn't come to her Professor at the start. She knew the conversation could lead nowhere but to an argument. The other Minerva had known that, which is why she'd come to Hermione versus her own past self.

* * *

"_Hermione!"_

_The young woman in question looked up sharply from her spot on guard duty. Ron and Harry were inside trying to get a bit of sleep. The whole mess at the Ministry the day before had worn all of them out, not to mention Ron's injuries. She was on high alert already, so having someone call to her directly sent her grabbing for her wand. _

_Coming toward her now was Professor McGonagall, along with a little girl, about five years old. What on earth?_

"_Mum!" the little girl greeted, waving frantically as the duo neared. _

_Hermione's wand clattered to the ground and her mouth fell open. She looked desperately at her Head of House, seeking answers to the unspoken questions running through her mind. _

"_Hush, Katy," Professor McGonagall said tenderly. "We talked about this…"_

"_What exactly is _this_?" Hermione asked, finding her tongue. "What's going on, Professor?"_

_The older woman chuckled. "Haven't heard you call me that in years."_

"_You call her 'randy witch', instead," the little girl said cheerfully. _

"_Katlyn Jean McGonagall!" Minerva yelped. "Could you possibly hold your tongue for more than a minute?!" _

_The little girl, Katy, stuck out her tongue and pinched it between her fingers. "Et hurst ta hould ma ton, mutter." she stated. _

_Mutter? Hermione thought. Did she mean...mother? And her... as 'mum'? As in… bloody hell…. "Who are you?" she asked softly, trembling. _

"_In one possible future," the tall, ebony haired woman said sadly. "I am your widow."_

* * *

Hermione looked at the Minerva of her present intently. "It was no fling. You and I were married. We chose to have that little girl together. We made her together, with love, in the future."

"So what does that mean for us now, Hermione?" Minerva asked, surprising the younger woman with the use of her given name. "And for her? If I brought her here, then she undoubtedly knows I am her...other mother...which means I cannot possibly just ignore her. It wouldn't be right."

"Nor can I. It's not her fault that her parents not only died, but decided to leave her in the care of their past selves. I think that they...we...wanted to give more than just Katy a second chance. From the sounds of it, Voldemort had all but won the war when you...she...left." Hermione paused. "Bugger, it's really hard to talk in the correct tense about this. It's our future, or one possible future, but it was their past, and Katy's past...and she is in the present."

"That future is not possible," Minerva sighed. "As we have already defeated Voldemort. What year is Katy meant to be born? Do you know?"

"Two-thousand and four," Hermione replied. "Future me dies about a month before future you brings...gah, brought...Katy back to now. They left from Two-thousand and nine."

"So this Katy will be starting Hogwarts the same year she was supposed to be born," Minerva mused. "What if she is never conceived? If we don't...you know…"

"She won't pop out of existence if that's what you mean," the younger woman replied. "Xander's fifth law of temporal physics dictates that a person will always be born when they were meant to, even if it's two a different pair of parents. For example, you could get together with someone else, have a child together at the same time you and I were supposed to, and the child would still be Katy, even if her features were different, or her name. Who she is, her magical core, would remain in sync."

"When did you become so versed in temporal physics?" Minerva inquired, curious.

Hermione laughed. "The last three months since your counterpart died and left Katy in my care."

"I see."

Resuming her serious tone, the younger of the two woman took a breath and looked her Professor in the eye. "So, what are we going to do?"

* * *

The plan, mad as it was, to protect Katy from the Ministry, was to move in together. Minerva and Hermione had agreed to pretend that they had been secretly seeing each other for the last few months, that things were splendid, and they had decided to move in together and adopt one of the many war orphans. Minerva would be the formal adoptive parent, giving Katy the McGonagall name, as witches or wizards without Hogwarts diplomas were not really supposed to be able to adopt kids.

Meanwhile, Minerva and Hermione had worked together to modify Katy's memories. She was made to believe that her parents had died during the war...mostly true… and that she had been adopted by Hermione and Minerva, who she called mum and mother, respectively. At six years old, they couldn't expect her to keep the truth of where she came from a secret, so until she could mind her tongue, they would have to do it for her. Anyway, when she did regain her memories, they would have probably faded to the point of barely recalling the life she was born into.

"Well, Ron and Harry are having a bloody fit," Hermione huffed, stepping into what was now 'their quarters. "They adjusted well enough to me having Katy, but I never told them the bit about who her other parent was. They probably just assumed Katy was Viktor's child."

"Did you really expect them to take the idea of you and I as a couple easily?" Minerva inquired, looking up from her desk.

"No," Hermione replied. "It's just…"

"What?"

"Well, if we really were shagging 'like cats in heat', as Ronald so delicately put it, then the annoyance of their tantrum would be worth it!" Hermione exclaimed.

Minerva dropped her quill at the mental image if she and Hermione having sex. "Uh...uh…"

Hermione noticed her odd expression, and grinned. "So you _are_ attracted to me!" she concluded.

"Miss Granger…"

"Oh, give it up, Minerva," Hermione said cheekily. "Admit it. You. Want. Me."

Minerva could feel her pulse racing. Well, yes, who the bloody hell wouldn't want Hermione Granger. The woman was beautiful! Alas, she was not about to give little Miss Granger the satisfaction. "I did not let you move into my quarters so that you could seduce me," she stated in her teacher-voice.

"I didn't suggest you had," Hermione replied with a smile. "That said, if you are feeling seducible, well, I can't say I'd object one bit. Just saying…"

Minerva huffed. That...little...minx.

"Or, you are quite welcome to seduce me," she added.

"Where's Katy?" Minerva asked quickly, desperate to change the subject.

"Quidditch Pitch with Ginny and Harry," Hermione replied. "Apparently, you neglected to mention that you like to fly, because I loathe it, and she had to get it from somewhere."

"Rolanda and I were both beater on the Gryffindor team, when we were in school," Minerva said, smiling softly. Oh, she did miss those days sometimes. It made her regret not having a family, though. She wanted to teach a child of hers to fly…

An idea suddenly crossed Minerva's mind. With a smile smile, she stood from her desk, and moved to grab her cloak.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"Down to the pitch," Minerva explained. "If someone is going to teach Katy how to fly, it ought to be one of her parents. As you are terrified of brooms, that leaves said teaching up to me."

The older witch couldn't help the butterflies forming in her stomach at the sight of Hermione's wide grin and nod of approval. Even if she wanted to…

* * *

Hermione walked into she, Katy, and Minerva's quarters cautiously, having heard the shouting through the door.

"It's not bloody fair!" Katy yelled.

"Watch your language, young lady!" Minerva snapped. "And life's not fair!"

"Everyone else has one!" the six year old whined. "Everyone but me."

"Everyone other than yourself is over the age of eleven!" Minerva countered.

"But you know I'm smart enough. I could handle it," Katy pleaded.

Hermione peaked her head around the corner to where Minerva and their daughter were having a verbal standoff. By the sight of the room and how many objects were floating around, crashing into every surface they encountered, the standoff was a bit more intense than just a verbal argument. "Incidental magic," she muttered quietly to herself. She then cleared her throat, making herself known.

"Mum!" Katy grinned. "Come on, tell mother I'm big enough to have my own wand."

"No," Hermione replied gently. "I agree with her, that you are not."

Brown eyes began to water and the toothy grin faded away quickly. "But...mum…"

"Katy," Hermione said softly. "Why don't you go to your room, and take some time to calm down. I will, in the meantime, speak with your mother and see if we can't come to a compromise of some sort. A wand is certainly out of the question, but if you truly feel like you are ready for schooling, I'm sure we can work something out."

"Okay mum," Katy sniffed. The six year old spared a huff toward Minerva before sulking off to her bedroom. As soon as her door closed, all the objects floating in the air dropped. Hermione, however, had expected this and with a flick of her wand, each of the displaced articles repaired themselves and returned to where they had been before.

Minerva slumped onto the sofa. "Why did she have to get my bloody temper?"

Hermione laughed. It had been two months since she'd moved in with Minerva. While the older witch still steadily avoided her advances, she was relaxing in the younger witch's presence more and more often. Hermione was glad to be getting to know the woman behind the stoic Headmistress' hat. "So, she wants a wand then?"

"No," Minerva said firmly. "I mean yes, she does, but no, she cannot have one. I am not going to budge on that, Hermione."

The younger witch nodded. "I was not about to argue the point. That said, I think her desire for a wand has more to do with a desire to learn new things than a desire to fit in. If she wants to learn, there's no reason we can't teach her."

"You're still a student yourself," Minerva pointed out. "Which makes this conversation funny off the bat."

"And you are head of Hogwarts, raising a child with a student under your charge," Hermione countered. "Which is funny to think about any time of day. Who'd have thought, at your advanced age, you'd be raising a six year old?"

"Ha, ha," the older woman replied dryly. "I'm not that bloody old yet, missy."

"Really?" Hermione asked, eyes sparkling. "Prove it, or I might have to suggest Katy call you _grandma_, rather than _mother._"

"Don't you dare!" Minerva squeaked, grabbing Hermione's wrist as the younger woman stood to walk away.

Momentum pulled Hermione's body flush against Minerva's, now both totally on the large, comfortable sofa. "Hi there," the younger witch grinned, moving her knee subtly between Minerva's thighs.

"Oh shit…" Minerva gulped. This was it. The moment she'd known was unavoidable since Hermione had told her about Katy two months ago. The chemistry between them had always been there, and now that they knew they were mutually attracted, that chemistry had been building up.

For Hermione's part, she was waiting. She knew that something was bound to develop between she and Minerva, but has much as she had been making it plain that she was very interested, when it came to the first, real sexual contact, she needed Minerva to be the bold one. She had to be sure that Minerva wasn't just responding to stimulation. "Min…" she whispered, leaning forward and touching nose to nose.

Almost on it's own accord, Minerva's pelvis shifted, pressing her core into Hermione's leg. The younger witch responded by supporting her upper body with one hand, placed next to Minerva's head, and using the other to slowly, gently, run and hand down the older witch's side, finally resting on her hip.

By now, Minerva's breathing was ragged, and Hermione could feel her pulse beating wildly. About three seconds later, Minerva's hands, which had been resting above her head, came forward and pulled Hermione's face the rest of the way to her.

The kiss was electric. Teeth clashed, tongues battled, and hands made frenzied movements in repeated attempts at finding a way to get closer. "Please…" Minerva begged, tugging at Hermione's button down shirt.

"Wish we could," Hermione murmurred. "But Katy is still in her bedroom, I hope."

"Okay, okay, you're right," Minerva nodded, forcing herself to stop exploring Hermione's amazing curves. "That said, I think we ought to arrange a date night."

"Minerva McGonagall, are you asking me out?" Hermione said, running her hands through her very disheveled hair, trying to get presentable.

"I guess I am," the older witch replied, shocked at her own words.

* * *

**Continue or no? (I ask with no expectation that any of you will say "nah, don't bother." LOL Please review! **


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